Jennifer Lawrence's 'Serena' bombs in U.K. debut

Looks like audiences weren't really waiting for more than two years for "Serena" to make its big screen debut.

The long delayed Jennifer Lawrence-Bradley Cooper film adapting the Ron Rash novel debuted to a lot of empty movie theater seats, and brought in disappointing numbers in the U.K. the weekend, according to The Guardian.

The film took in £95,000 from 185 screens -- which is about $153,310. And came in 19th place overall.

The disappointing box office numbers aren't really a surprise, since "Serena" debuted to harsh criticism at the BFI London Film Festival Oct. 14.

The reviews are so harsh that within 24 hours, Crushable.com had already compiled "8 Cringe-Inducing Sentences From Early Reviews Of J-Law's Movie Serena." The No. 1 example? "Have you ever wanted to punch a film right in the face if it, you know, actually had a face to punch? Well, that's Serena for you."

The film, directed by Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier and filmed in the spring and early summer of 2012 in the Czech Republic — standing in for Haywood County, N.C. — had been in post-production for going on two years.

What is surprising: The bad reception and poor ticket sales, despite the strength of the cast and production quality.

Jennifer Lawrence collaborates for the third time with Bradley Cooper in the epic, dark tale set in Depression-era Western North Carolina. The duo -- who have been critical and commercial darlings in "American Hustle" and "Silver Linings Playbook" -- played a husband-and-wife duo who run a timber empire in 1930s Waynesville.

"Silver Linings Playbook" debuted in November 2012 with £1.25 million box office take, which is around $2 million, with about $471,000 more in previews, according to The Guardian. About a year later, "American Hustle" was an even bigger automatic hit the first weekend out: It made about $5.6 million, with about $1.8 million in previews, The Guardian reports.

"Serena" is slated to come stateside in 2015.

A U.S. distributor stepped up -- sort of -- in September.

Magnolia, an American film distributor, has acquired the rights by default. The distribution company, specializing in independent and foreign films, was formed Bill Banowsky in 2001 -- and Banowsky is also a founder of Carolina Cinemas, which has an Asheville location.

The Magnolia purchase ends the film's years-long saga. But the drama doesn't end there: Yahoo! Movies reports that Magnolia became the "default distributor" of the movie after other studios rejected it because a sister company financed it.

"Serena" the book was released in 2008 to much critical acclaim, on the other hand. It was a finalist in Fiction for the PEN/Faulkner Award.

Rash is the John Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Studies at Western Carolina University. (Christopher Kyle wrote the film adaptation.)

Another work by Rash, "The World Made Straight," was also made into a film and is now awaiting distribution. "The World Made Straight" was shot in WNC in March 2013